Pre Construction - Equipment Advice

I will be meeting with our builder soon. He had shoulder surgery and has been recovering so I'm not in a hurry to bother him. I had given very few details in my first post and was asking about the best cleaner for long needle pines. You replied below:

"Such as system might consist of a 1.5HP 2 speed pump (like a Hayward Super or Super II), a 24" sand filter (up to 20,000 gallons) or ideally 30", and 2" piping & multiport servicing 2 skimmers + 1 main drain and 2-3 returns. The MD would be off, normally, and the return eyeballs directed down but oriented to produce circular flow that would carry surface debris past the skimmers. This would be a VERY low resistance circulation system, so you'd get a lot of flow on low speed, for very low cost."

Here are a few more details about the pool we are planning. 22 x 34 Full L with 6' beach entry (and stairs). Gunite with White Pearl pebble coat. The decking will be tan cobblestone. We live at the beach so we have more sand than acutal soil in our yard, concrete decking would never last long. the shallow end will be 3 feet and the deep end 5 feet (water table issues prevent deep pools in our area). We opted for Saltwater and have an IntelliChlor Salt Chlorine Generator picked out.

Here are my equipment questions keeping in mind the long needle pine trees just over the fence:
1. With a contemporary full L shape, will 2 skimmers + 1 main drain with 3 returns be enough?
2. Our builder is partial to Pentair products. Now that I have added a few more details, will the pump and sand filter you suggested above apply?

The builder told us the local electric company is offering rebates for the following (expensive) pump:
IntelliFlo Variable Speed Ultra Energy-Efficient Pool Pump Part No. 011018 it has 8 speeds and lots of fancy unnecessary features.

I'm affraid that might be overkill and more than we want to spend. I'm trying to think of everything I can so we get this right the first time. All suggestions are appreciated. If there are questions I should be asking my builder that I haven't thought of...those suggestions are more than welcome also.

I am breaking ground next week and my pool/spa combo is 16 x 22. I am using all Pentair and I went with a Challenger 1.5 HP 2 speed pump for the pool and my pool builder includes a 2 hp Challenger pump, seperate for the spa, that runs it specifically. You don't need the variable speed, as long as you have a 2 speed that you can set on low. That should save you money.

I am also putting in the Intellichlor and a 24" sand filter. I am using a Pentair Master temp gas heater. Hope this helps.

I have 7 returns on 16 X 40 .. add returns and make sure the pipe circles the entire pool for proper flow to each return . I have Tee and 2 main drains on the return line